Dangerous Animal Encounters – Section 3.3.1 K9s: Domestic Dogs



In this section we talk about domestic dogs, which by far, present the greatest physical threat to humans.

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Of all of the animals on earth, domestic dogs by far present the greatest physical threat to humans. It’s not the fact that dogs are more capable of killing you than most of the other animals we have discussed, however, it is their abundance and close proximity to humans that makes them collectively dangerous. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think you necessarily need to be looking suspiciously at your family Chihuahua, but the threat that domesticated dogs pose to our safety is not something to take lightly. It’s the devil you know… That being said, we need not be concerned with every dog. In random dog encounters (i.e. not your pet) I’d venture to say that feral or semi-feral domestic dogs in groups pose the greatest threat, followed closely by dogs that are protecting their territory. The issue with dogs is that they know us humans so well that in many cases violent dogs have ceased to see us as a threat. Remember the food habituated bear we talked about? Same deal. All of the mystery is gone, violent domestic dogs no longer fear us and that is dangerous.

Children are the most vulnerable

Children are more susceptible to domestic dog injuries or death. They are less powerful than adults, often hold little or no authority over the dogs that they interact with, and the most vital areas of their bodies, face and neck, are right at dog level. Combined, these factors can lead to serious injury or death even if the dog doesn’t mean to inflict serious harm.

If you own dogs and there are children around, I urge you to quickly and swiftly correct any type of violent behavior or domination by any dog against you or a child. If it were me, and any dog of mine showed dominant behavior and/or violence toward my child I personally would immediately correct the behavior, and if it continued to happen I would get rid of it. It’s just not worth it. Millions of Americans are bitten by dogs ever year, and though there are only 20-35 or so fatalities annually in the United States, in 2015 over 28,000 people had to have reconstructive surgery after being bitten by a dog. So even if you don’t die, no one wants to get their face bitten off.

Some dog breeds are definitely more dangerous than others. In fact, 91% of fatal dog attacks in 2015 were from pit bulls and Rottweilers, with 28 fatal attacks by pit bulls and 3 by Rottweilers. I know a lot of people who just love their pits. I’d personally never own one.

What to do when confronted by an aggressive dog

If you are confronted by an aggressive domestic dog you need to take immediate steps to lessen the chances that the dog will attack you. If you are outside and the dog is not cornered, when a dog begins aggressively barking or growling at you square your shoulders up to them, look them in the eye, and take a step toward them, stomping the ground loudly, and screaming NO! in your most dominant angry voice. The step forward shows the dog that you are not afraid of a confrontation (even if you really are) and yelling “no” loudly projects power and aggression and it hopefully will trigger some type of training that the dog might have. Most dogs have a human master that they are submissive to. By projecting dominant behavior you are showing that you are dominant.

Once you take that step forward, hold your ground. DO NOT simply take the step forward and then step right back. That is sending a mixed signal that is “advance but then retreat”. You want to advance and then hold your ground for a moment to drive the point home.

If the dog is in a yard, a car, or a house, do not enter that space while the dog is advancing and barking. It is likely that the dog is protecting its territory and if you enter that space it is much more likely to bite you than if you remain outside of their space (i.e. the street). Many dog encounters are a stalemate where the dog is in a yard barking and acting aggressive but does not leave the yard. In this instance it is simply warning against advancement into its territory.

After you take a step forward and yell, the dog should stop advancing and freeze or sometimes it will turn and run a bit and then turn back around and continue barking. If the dog freezes you freeze too and let out a couple more aggressive “NO” yells. After a moment of stalemate you can begin disengaging. Do not turn your back to the dog but instead, walk sideways or backwards continuing to face the dog. The dog may advance at this point as you retreat, but it will likely keep the distance between you consistent, i.e. not speed up to close the distance. If it is in a yard it will most likely stop when it reaches the edge of the yard and continue watching you as you walk away.

If the dog continues to advance upon you quickly in an aggressive way after you have taken your step forward and yelled, my best advice to you is escalate your aggression by facing the dog and charging at it for a short distance while screaming loudly and holding your arms up or out to your sides to make yourself look bigger. This action in my experience almost always results in the dog turning and running, even if just for a few feet. If the dog turns and runs a bit it has shown you that it really does not want a physical confrontation. Remember though, if the dog is in a yard, do not enter the yard or get close enough to the yard to make it seem like you are going to enter.

Find something to defend yourself 

If at any point you can obtain a weapon like a stick or a rock without making yourself more vulnerable, do so. The weapon will help you if there is a physical confrontation, but it will also give you more confidence in the conflict. Remember, body language is everything. If you truly believe that you are powerful and dominant than the dog is much more likely to believe it too. This is the time to tap into your most primal pissed off self. Convince yourself that yes, you are going to get bit, but that you are about to hurt this dog badly and that it is about to make a big mistake if it engages physically with you.

Is it just posturing?

Much of animal aggression is posturing.

Most animals do not actually want to fight, but they use aggressive behavior to maintain dominance and therefore hopefully avoid a fight. Case in point, wolverines only get up to around 50 lbs but they have a reputation for fending of grizzly bears that can be over 20-30 times their weight. They do it by being fierce and not backing down. Even though a physical confrontation between a grizzly and a wolverine and could lead to serious injury or death for the wolverine, they convince the bear though extremely aggressive posturing that there is a chance that they could in fact be fiercer. The bear thinks, “Wait, what does this animal know that I don’t? Why is it so confident? What if it is as tough as it is acting? I could get hurt. Better to disengage and not find out.”

This is the same phenomenon that allows a Chihuahua to dominate a Great Dane. Confidence is king.

If you find yourself engaged in a situation with an aggressive dog, the fact that the dog did not just immediately attack you means that it is still trying to figure out if you are a threat and if so, if it can intimidate you. If the dog thinks that it is about to enter a fight that it can’t win, it is most likely to disengage. If the dog sees you as submissive, or a non-threat to its safety, it is much more likely to attack. Whatever you do, DO NOT run. Running is the ultimate form of submission and can be a very dangerous way to attempt to get away from an aggressive dog. If you run you have shown the dog that it is in charge and that it can do as it wishes with you.

What to do if a dog attacks you

If you do find yourself in a physical fight with a dog, fight like hell. Tap into your primal self and fight. If you have any type of object with you, a stick, book, backpack etc., hold it in front of you as an offering for the dog to bite. If the dog takes the bait and bites the object that gives you an advantage in fighting back as the dog was not able to latch onto you.

Try and remain on your feet, if possible. If a dog is charging you you should brace yourself for the impact so you don’t get knocked over. If you don’t have another object to put between yourself and the dog, offer your non-dominant arm so that is the thing that the dog will hopefully bite first. Once contact is made with the dog lash out with kicks and stomps and continue to scream aggressively. Screaming will help you funnel your adrenalin but it will also hopefully draw the attention of other people who may be able to help you. Attempt to punch or hammer fist the the dog in the soft part of its nose as hard as you can and gouge its eyes. Kick as hard as you can at its stomach, ribs, and genitals with the intention to break bones.

If the dog does take you to the ground make all efforts to protect your face and neck from bites and continue to use the power of your legs to kick the dog off of you. Remember, unless the dog is protecting its master it is unlikely to continue to engage with you if it starts getting injured.

It is a good idea to carry some type of weapon on you at all times. If you are walking you might carry a hefty walking stick, or a good one-handed opening pocketknife, or even pepper spray. Pepper spray is extremely effective on aggressive dogs and is a good option for those who don’t feel as physically strong or confident. When using a knife to defend yourself against an attacking dog, attempt to stab and cut its face, if you cannot get at its face, slice and stab heavily at the soft part of its gut, insert the knife in-between ribs in an attempt to puncture a lung, or cut at the rear leg tendons. Hopefully you’re like me and you always keep a knife on your person sharp…

 

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